


What the Tide Brings Us

by catsfromspace



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Deep Sea Nine, I'll start adding tags as they apply btw more characters will appear, M/M, Marine Biology AU, Sorry in advance for all of the Jaws jokes, mermaid au, speculative nonhuman biology
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-13
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2018-08-30 21:14:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8549326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catsfromspace/pseuds/catsfromspace
Summary: Even medical prodigies can make mistakes, and when Doctor Julian Bashir makes a big one that lands him with a week of suspension, he finds himself stuck with daily babysitting duty on the beach. What he doesn't expect is that a boring week of chasing his coworker's daughter will lead to some rather unusual encounters with another world. Marine Biology AU/ Mermaid AU





	1. Prologue

　　“It’s not that deep, Ezri. Don’t be silly.”  
　　Julian put his feet flat down on the sandy bottom to prove his point; the water just barely rose up to the top of his chest.  
　　A petite woman stood at the shoreline, arms crossed over her bare breasts. Her thin lips were turned downward in complaint. “That’s easy for you to say.Your legs are practically taller than my whole body. ” Her large, blue eyes glared down at Julian from underneath her shaggy black bangs. She begrudgingly shuffled into the water.  
　　“One wrong step and my face is gonna be underwater.”  
　　Julian cocked his head and smirked. “Just another excuse to hold you, my dear.” Ezri responded with an exaggerated eye roll. He playfully swatted a small spray of water at Ezri, who squeaked and charged into the water. Julian propelled himself forward to grab her hand and gently drag her into his arms.  
　　Ezri pushed off of the sand and let herself be pulled to Julian’s chest. She rested her hands on his shoulders and touched the tip of her nose to his. She giggled. “Promise you won’t throw me to the sharks?”  
　　Julian cocked his brow, puzzled. “There aren’t any sharks in the reserve. We had it barricaded off months before the team moved in, and, oh.” Julian stopped speaking as Ezri craned her head and looked at him with her best exasperated eyebrow furrow. “Right.”  
　　He kissed her pointy nose. “Well, in any case,” he kissed her jawline, right below her ear, “I like to think,” her neck, “that I am the only one allowed to bite you right now.” His teeth replaced his lips on her neck.  
　　Ezri melted against him, letting her legs float freely as he alternated between kissing and gently biting at the crook where her neck met her chest, now and again running his tongue along her neck, as if strategically mapping where his teeth would make the next impact. She slipped in his arms a bit, and kicked her feet to set herself right.  
　　“Stop,” Ezri whined playfully, turning her face away without any real resistance.  
　　Julian laughed softly and kissed the top tip of her ear. “Oh, my. Are we getting shy?” he murmured.  
　　Ezri wiggled out of his arms. “No, really, Julian. Wait just a second.” She braced herself on his shoulder with her right hand and tried to pull her foot up to her left.  
　　Julian dug his heels into the sand. “Is everything alright?”  
　　“Yeah. Yeah, I must have stepped in something. I think there’s a rope around my ankle.” She stumbled. “Can we go a little shallower?”  
　　“Of course!” He began to wrap an arm around Ezri’s shoulders when she slipped again — this time falling much more forcefully.  
　　Ezri scrambled to catch her footing, eyes frantic and spitting sea water out of her mouth as she frantically spoke. “Jul- Julian. I think something’s grabbin–”  
　　Ezri’s sentence was cut off by a sharp gurgle as she disappeared below the surface. The force that yanked her down knocked Julian out of balance, and nearly dragged Ezri out of his hands. Julian grasped blindly at the water, barely catching hold of Ezri’s arm. He pushed his feet harder against the ocean floor, fighting back against whatever was trying to pull the small woman into deeper waters. Ezri flailed to the surface every couple of seconds, spluttering and gasping. The force on Ezri’s opposite end yanked her back harshly; Julian’s wrist popped forward painfully.  
　　“Shit!” He grabbed her forearm with his uninjured hand.  
　　Ezri gave a massive kick and the tugging briefly eased up. She crashed forward into Julian’s chest. Ezri all but leaped toward the shore, simultaneously trying to limp forward and yank Julian along with her.  
　　A sudden jolt threw them both off balance as Ezri was once again gripped by her leg. She gave a final jab with her foot; Ezri let out a pained shout and the tugging ceased. Julian wrapped one arm around her middle, up under her arms, and the pair all but crawled through the last shallow reaches of the waves to collapse on the damp bank. Julian looked out toward the loud splashing that had been been behind them in time to see nothing but the small, choppy waves of water trying to sort themselves after the disruption.  
　　Ezri rolled onto her knees and tried to stand. As soon as she put pressure on her left foot, her leg buckled under her. Her calf was covered in thick streaks of blood.  
　　Julian rolled over and quickly stood up. “Woah! Woah. Here. Sit down. Let’s look at your leg.”  
　　Julian retrieved the small pile of their clothing, plucking out his shirt and dampening it in the sea water. He gingerly dabbed the blood away. A series of deep gashes ran down Ezri’s calf. As soon as Julian had wiped away the blood, fresh streams replaced them, trickling down over a swollen ankle.  
　　He tied the shirt around Ezri’s calf. “Do you want me to call for medical?” he asked, sliding back into his cargo shorts, a bit awkwardly with only the proper use of one hand.  
　　Ezri wobbled to her feet, using Julian as a support. She stepped into her sundress. “I’m fine.” Julian opened his mouth to object, and Ezri cut him off. “I can walk, Julian. It’s not that bad.”  
　　Julian exhaled heavily, then slid Ezri’s arm around his shoulders. “Let’s get to the infirmary, then.” They set off, albeit rather slowly, back towards the facility.  
　　“Do you think, uh, should we file an official report with Sisko? I don’t even know what to say about all this. I’m still not sure exactly what just happened.”  
　　Julian laughed softly. “I won’t tell if you don’t.”


	2. New Assignments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo I know I last updated ages ago. But I ended up telling my friend about this a couple nights ago, and she encouraged me to finish it. And thanks to being a nasty fish-lover, my resurged love for Undertale and recent viewing of Hellboy have put me back in the mood for some good ol' sea romance. 
> 
> I'll try to update regularly now that I actually have the time again! I know it's probably gonna be full of formatting errors, so bear with me and I'll figure it out over the next couple days.

　　A wave crashed onto the rocky flat where Julian crouched over a tide pool, splashing a few flecks of salty foam across his face. The energetic seven-year-old beside him balanced barefoot on one of the less jagged rocks, dipping one foot into the pool to jab around at the globs of loose seaweed.  
　　Julian scrunched his face, trying to blink the salt water out of his eyes without rubbing in even more salt from his fingers. “Doesn’t that hurt your feet?” he asked the girl.  
　　Molly lifted out a chunk of seaweed with her toes. “Nnnnnope,” she said idly and shook her foot until the seaweed plopped onto the top of Julian’s sandal. She snickered. “Gross.”  
　　Julian sighed. “Yes. Thank you, Molly,” he muttered, plucking the slimy glob from his foot and tossing it away. “I’d feel better if you put your sandals back on, please. Your mother won’t be very happy with me if you come home with your feet scraped up.”  
　　Molly let out an exaggerated groan. “Okay, okay.” She traced back to her sandals at the edge of the rock flat, carefully hopping from one stone to another.   
　　“Mercy,” Julian murmured under his breath, shaking his head. “How is that comfortable?” He turned back to the pool. Something small and blue caught his attention from amid the seaweed on a shallow shelf in the pool. Julian picked up a thin twig from a nearby wash-up pile and carefully tried to pry apart the sticky, half-submerged mound. A little crab darted out from underneath the weeds, waving its claws around in an attempt to intimidate the giant creature invading its space.  
　　Julian prodded at the crab; the crab snipped back at the twig. Julian giggled childishly. For a creature barely as large as his palm, it certainly had guts. The crab snapped down on the twig with the larger claw, and Julian lifted it a few centimeters off of the sandy bottom. He gently wiggled the stick; the crab clung on tightly, waving its legs until Julian slowly set it back down on the sand.   
　　Babysitting duty was not Julian’s favorite responsibility, but he had to admit that having to wander around the beach was not the worst punishment that he could have received. Of course, he had not anticipated his boss finding out about the skinny dipping incident in the first place. Unfortunately, Captain Sisko had his ways of finding out exactly what one did not want him to know.   
　　Julian and Ezri had successfully made their way back to the infirmary without more than an alarmed eyebrow raise from the night watchman, Odo. As he had opened his mouth to question the bloody crust and streams trailing down Ezri’s leg, Ezri piped up to tell him that it was “a, uh, drunken misfortune.” Odo, though not looking entirely convinced, responded with a tired groan and dropped the matter. A couple hours of stitching and disinfecting later, and the two were dead to the world in their bunks.   
　　Naturally, at approximately nine the next morning, Julian had found himself sitting face-to-face with Captain Benjamin Sisko.   
　　“Doc-tor Ba-shir,” he had started, exaggerating each syllable break as he did when he was particularly put off, one hand propping his scruffy jaw and the other tapping on his desk in an agitated manner.   
　　He spoke slowly. “First of all, I do want you to know that I respect you tremendously, both as my chief medical officer, and as my friend.” He paused. “And with that respect comes a great deal of trust. And I am trusting that you will tell me the whole truth here. Now, you and I both know that you are a wonderfully intelligent man; this is, of course, one of the reasons that we were so eager to accept you into our team here.  
　　“But what I’m having trouble understanding, Doctor,” he had leaned forward over the desk, knitting his knuckles together in front of him, “is why in the hell my chief medical officer thought that it was an intelligent idea to go swimming in the ocean in the middle of the night, and at the risk of the safety of one of your fellow crewmen, no less.”  
　　Julian tried to play it off with the same story that they had given Odo, but apparently Odo had seen more than he had let known.  
　　One week of paid suspension for reckless behavior and unauthorized access to a restricted conservation area, which, as Sisko had pointedly reminded Julian several times during their morning meeting, could have meant a hefty trespassing charge if the wrong people had caught him.   
　　“We’re lucky to have been given this much space on a small budget,” Sisko had reminded Julian. “Use it responsibly.”  
　　Embarrassed, Julian had tried to keep the ordeal under wraps. He loved his coworkers like a family, but, like any family, nobody was given mercy if an opportunity arose. Once word of Julian’s free week has reached the chief engineer, a stocky Irish fellow named Miles with frizzy sand-colored hair and permanent bags under his eyes, he had nearly crashed into the medical office door with a very particular favor.   
　　And, thus, Doctor Julian Bashir began his short-lived career as a full-time babysitter.   
　　It occurred to Julian that Molly had been unusually silent for quite some time. He rose from the tide pool and scanned the surrounding beach. There was no sign of the girl. “Molly?” he called. No response. He spoke out louder. “Molly!”   
　　A small voice shouted something unintelligible from the distance. The unmistakably clumsy slapping of a child’s flip-flops across wet sand echoed from around a sandstone outcrop about twenty yards away. Molly heralded her arrival with a triumphant crow that was audible even before the small girl was within Julian’s sight. “Mister Bashir! Look! Look what I got!” She scurried to him, kicking up sand and water as she ran through the lapping edge of the tide.   
　　Julian jogged to meet Molly halfway. She stumbled to a stop in front of him. “Look!” She thrust her petite fist toward Julian, brown cords squiggling out here and there from between her fingers. She opened her hand. A long mass of sodden jute twine sat scrunched up in her palm. Julian plucked it out of her hand and watched it untangle in the air. The burlap twine was scraggly and well-worn, the ends tied together like a necklace. About halfway between the ends where the knot met, the twine wove around three small pieces of kelly green sea glass in a series of tight, sloppy knots.   
　　Julian held the necklace up so that the sunlight illuminated the sea glass. He squinted into the reflected light. “Did you make this?”   
　　“No, it was a gift.”   
　　“A gift?” he questioned cautiously. “From who?” Deep Sea Nine’s private alloted land extended for a mile around the base.   
　　“A mermaid,” said Molly idly as she inspected one of glass chunks in the sunlight with one eye scrunched shut.   
　　Julian grinned, relieved that he wouldn’t have to handle trespassers. “Really? A mermaid?” Molly hummed an affirmation. He looped the necklace around Molly’s neck. The long twine dangled nearly to her navel. He took her by the hand. “Let’s go show your mum, shall we?”  
　　Upon their arrival back to the O'Brien quarters, Molly crashed through the door, brandishing her treasure so enthusiastically that she all but punched her father in the stomach with her outstretched fists.   
　　Miles wobbled backward, placing his hands on Molly’s shoulders. “Yes! Yes, hello, sweetheart! What’ve you got there?” He knelt down to her level, to which Molly responded by shoving her hand into his face. He gently took the twine and held it up.   
　　“A mermaid gave it to me!” Molly beamed proudly.   
　　Miles widened his eyes in exaggerated surprise. “Really!” He glanced at Julian over her shoulders as he spoke. “A mermaid?”  
　　Julian nodded along playfully and winked.   
　　“Yeah!” Molly bounced as she talked. “Mister Bashir told me to go put on my shoes, so I did. But he was busy looking at a bunch of stinky seaweed and it was really boring, so I went to the, at the, uh. What’s the rocks? The rock place. The jerry? The rocks.”  
　　“The jetty? You know you’re not go to the jetty without a grown-up.”  
　　“Yeah, yeah. The jetty. But I was just digging in the sand by it. I was digging a hole and heard more splashing. Not like wave splashing. More splashing. And I know I’m not supposed to go walk on the rocks. She was sitting in the water and it was all up over her nose and she was looking at me. So I went close to the rocks. I didn’t get on them, I promise. I got close to them. And so she came up to the beach and she gave me this necklace. And she was ugly, dad. Boy, she was real ugly. And then I heard Mister Bashir yelling for me and she left real quick and then I went to go show him”  
　　Miles laughed softly and handed the necklace back to Molly. “Well, then.” He kissed her on the forehead. “You must be one lucky girl to get a gift from a mermaid. Why don’t you go put it away somewhere safe so that you can show mommy when she gets home.”  
　　And, with that, Molly scurried to her room. Miles stood up. “You don’t think she really saw anybody on the beach, did she?”  
　　“I didn’t see anybody,” said Julian. “She wasn’t out of my sight for very long, either.”   
　　“I’d appreciate it if she didn’t leave your sight at all.”  
　　Julian exhaled noisily. “I know. The beach is safe, Miles. I promise. Molly has a strong imagination. She probably found that washed up when she was digging around.”  
　　“I trust you, Julian. But please understand that she’s still very little. I don’t feel comfortable knowing that she playing near the jetty without you watching her. What if she had decided to climb on the rocks and had fallen in? She can barely swim in a pool. She wouldn’t have a chance against an undertow.”  
　　“She’s a smart girl. See? She knew not to climb on it.”  
　　“Smart, yeah. But she’s still a kid. Y’tell a kid not to go somewhere and that’s gonna make sure they go straight there. And besides, you of all people should know how dangerous the ocean is, especially after whatever happened last night.”  
　　“Miles, come on now.”  
　　Miles held his palms out. “I’m just saying!” He sighed. “Look. I know that babysitting isn’t really your thing and you didn’t exactly volunteer. I really do appreciate you watching Molly this week. Even just today, it was a huge help to Keiko and me. Our usual sitter adds up so fast, and we still have another month before Molly starts back to school during the daytime.”  
　　Julian nodded in affirmation.“It really is okay, Miles. I just want you to trust me. It’s not going to happen again.”  
　　“I trust you.” Miles clapped a large hand on Julian’s narrow shoulder. “I really do appreciate you doing this for us.”  
　　Julian smiled. “It’s no problem.”  
　　

* * *

  
　　“She’s not gonna come up if you’re here too,” Molly griped.   
　　Julian yawned. “Well, I don’t know what to tell you. You heard your father: no running off without me like you did the other day.”  
　　Molly pouted and remained quiet as she lead Julian toward the jetty. It had rained the previous day so Molly had stayed at Julian’s quarters, streaming movies on the couch. She hadn’t stopped chattering about mermaids since her supposed encounter. When she woke and saw the overcast, yet dry sky, she had been ready to go bright and early.   
　　Julian, however, was much less enthused. The previous evening, he and Ezri went to the medical bay to do a brief check-up on her wounds, which were healing up perfectly fine. And then, at the end of the visit, Ezri casually mentioned she was too busy to think about a relationship - that, even if it had been fun for the last couple weeks, she really didn’t need any distractions as she finished up her master’s thesis and prepared to present it.   
　　Although he knew Ezri was perfectly justified in her reasoning, Julian sulked through the night. He couldn’t help but feel that the incident had something to do with her sudden change of heart.   
　　“Maybe she’ll come out with you here. I guess,” Molly grumbled, plopping down on the sand a few feet from the start of the jetty.   
　　Julian slowly sat down next to her. “We’ll just have to see.”   
　　Though the rain had cleared overnight, the sea snapped its waves at the jetty rocks angrily, reflecting back the clouds’ monochrome grey. It all looked so bland today - the water, the rocks, the sand. There they sat, staring out at the monotonous slapping of water. Molly never took her eyes from the water. After a few minutes, she had stood back up and begun slowly pacing back and forth at the jetty’s mouth, scanning for something, anything indicative of her visitor.   
　　Julian felt a bit bad for her. Maybe she genuinely did believe that she had met somebody. But it simply didn’t make sense if that were the case.   
　　He heard Molly softly gasp. She froze, staring intently at the rocks. Julian squinted at where she was looking. His heart beat quickly. There in the water, maybe ten yards out, he could have sworn he saw something peek its strange, grey head out from the water. A small wave splashed over it, and as quickly as he had seen it, it popped back underwater.   
　　“A manatee?” he said breathlessly. “I’ve never seen one in person!”   
　　Then, without warning, Molly bolted across the jetty toward where the manatee’s head had emerged. “I TOLD YOU!”  
　　Julian scrambled to his feet, stumbling over his own long legs and rushing over the slick jetty to catch Molly.   
　　“I TOLD you, Doctor Bashir! You saw her too! You saw! You saw her look at us!” Molly kept hopping closer to the edge.   
　　“Molly! Don’t. Move. A. Muscle.”   
　　Molly froze, realizing that she was in trouble. Then, as she shifted her foot to come near, a large wave swiped at her shoes. She flailed a moment, then clumsily flopped off of the jetty along with the receding water.   
　　“Shit! Shit shit! Molly!”   
　　Time seemed to slow as Julian lunged forward to grab her, barely missing. He prepared to jump in after her. Even if she couldn’t swim, even in the rough waters, he could get them out of any currents.   
　　But Molly never hit the water.   
　　Julian froze. His heart pounded.   
　　Molly lay suspended in the wave, her eyes wider than he had ever seen them. As the water seemed to fall away from her at a quarter speed, Julian saw that she was being held up by a large, bumpy pair of grey hands.   
　　A large, grey man held Molly aloft. He looked from the child over to Julian with his glassy, enormous eyes.   
　　Time might as well have frozen.


	3. Sentience, Among All Else

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, guess who got a super fun stomach virus this weekend and didn't have anything better to do than write on the couch! So, the next chapter is up much sooner than expected. 
> 
> As usual, will probably be making small edits as I notice mistakes over the next few days. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has been reading, commenting, leaving kudos, etc. I didn't expect so much positive feedback! I really appreciate it!! I'll do my best to deliver good content!

　　Julian’s pager chirped out at approximately 6:37 in the morning, nearly vibrating off of the side table next to his head.  
　　Julian pawed at his eyes and groaned. It felt like he had just gotten to sleep, and he had been really hoping to get to stay in bed until the last possible moment before time to get up for his shift. He sat up and set his feet to the floor.  
　　It had been nearly ten days since the incident on the jetty, and he had barely slept since that morning. The first night, he didn’t sleep at all.  
　　He couldn’t forget the look in Miles’ eyes as he scrambled into the infirmary: a mix of panic and desperation that he had never seen in his generally cynical and confident friend. Keiko was nearly ready to take a swing at Julian; Miles wasn’t far behind in sentiment. If it hadn’t been for intervention from Jadzia, the head biologist who assisted part-time in the infirmary, the O’Brien family would have had Julian in one of his own hospital beds in an instant. Molly had been fine. She had been in shock, certainly, but she was back at home with her parents by the next day. Neither Miles nor Keiko had spoken to Julian since Molly was discharged.  
　　Julian hastily smeared deodorant under his arms and did a brief scrub of his mouth with a toothbrush. He pulled the previous day’s scrubs on over his boxers and sleep shirt, slid his feet into his shoes, and headed out the door.  
　　He had almost convinced himself that the stranger detail of the day on the jetty had been a dream. But those enormous, black eyes bored into him when he closed his eyes. He was no expert in marine biology, but he was pretty certain that Molly’s savior was not a manatee. Or, at least, that manatees did not have big, fishy hands.  
　　As Julian waved the image from his brain and rounded the corner into the short corridor to the infirmary, he heard a commotion. He broke into a jog. He shoved open the door, then immediately dodged back out of it as a metal tray came hurtling toward his head and clattered against the doorframe.  
　　“What on Earth?”  
　　Julian cautiously slid back into the infirmary. Tools and trays littered the floor; an IV rack was toppled over and leaking. Blood had been smeared across the table and nearby cabinets. The most startling part, however, was on the examination table.  
　　A bloody, slick creature thrashed around, partially restrained on the arm by the day security guard. Despite Worf’s towering stature and build, he struggled against the writhing mass on the table, which had Worf’s ponytail snatched in one hand. The other hand swiped at Jadzia, who was trying and failing to simultaneously fend off the clawed hand and get a syringe near it. A blood-smeared Captain Sisko had it by its abdomen to brace it from slithering from the table. The long body clumsily knocked him against a cabinet beside the table.  
　　“Any time now would be great, Julian!” Jadzia shouted through clenched teeth as the creature shoved her backward.  
　　Julian rushed forward at the creature. Jadzia passed the syringe to his hand and took hold of the creature’s other arm. There was a silent understanding between her and Julian that she was a bit stronger.   
　　The creature looked straight at Julian with its huge eyes, slit pupils boring into him, its face contorted into snarl. It opened its mouth and hissed loudly, showing him two rows of shark-like teeth. The large, lacy gills on its neck flared out around its face, not too unlike an angry frilled lizard.  
　　Julian took a deep breath and stuck the syringe into the creature’s arm, but the needle would not immediately penetrate. After a harsh jab, the needle stabbed through the thick skin and Julian pushed down the plunger. He retracted the needle and stepped backward.  
　　The creature hissed again and yanked Jadzia and Worf forward with its arms as it tried to lunge for Julian. It wobbled, then fell forward on the floor, dragging its three captors down and smearing blood across the tiles. As it tried to pull itself up by its arms, it collapsed on the floor, its unconscious body heaving with breaths.  
　　It took the four of them to wrangle the massive body back onto the table. Even then, its long lower torso spilled off by at least a foot.  
　　“We’re gonna need a bigger table,” retorted Jadzia.  
　　Julian took a step back and looked at the relaxed body. It was gray all over, lighter in the face and larger expanses of skin, and darker in the finer details. Its upper torso was human-like, aside from the large ridges going down its shoulders, chest, and back. Its hands would have been not too different from his own long fingers, if not for the delicate webbing that ran between them. The ridges ran down the sides of its torso, which lead into a long, thick tail.  
　　Julian assumed the ridges ran up to its face, underneath the layer of three long, frilly gills on either side of its neck, and connected to the ones that ran along its brow and down its nose. It had a man’s face, perhaps a blunter nose and lips that were barely visible. It’s eyes were much larger than those of a human, with no visible eyelids. Upon closer inspection, Julian observed that a thin, milky film covered its eyes as it slept. The pupils, which had glared at him in narrowed, thin slits, had relaxed into soft black circles with no iris. It had no eyebrows or lashes, but did have a slick of short, black hair on the top of its head.  
　　In its motionless state, Julian could actually take a better look at its face. “It’s you,” he whispered.  
　　“Pardon?” asked Sisko.  
　　Julian’s breath hitched. “I saw him. Out on the jetty. That, um, that day when Molly almost fell in. I...” He trailed off.  
　　The room was silent.  
　　Jadzia spoke up. “What exactly are we going to do with it?”  
　　“Throw the god damn thing back in the water,” grumbled Worf. “I don’t understand why we had to bring it in here in the first place. It’s obviously a hazard.”  
　　Sisko glanced over the body and thought a moment. “Jadzia, are any of the observation tanks un-occupied?”  
　　“Tank Two had a recent release and was just cleaned.”  
　　Sisko nodded. “Get its vitals, and house it in the tank for now. We’ll figure out what to do from there. Please meet in the board room for a staff meeting at nine.”  
　　Julian looked at Sisko. “It’s... Staying here, sir?”  
　　Sisko looked at Julian with tired eyes. “At nine, Doctor.” He walked out the door.  
　　Worf snorted. “The Captain is making a mistake, if you ask me. That thing is dangerous.” He rubbed the back of his head. “You saw how hard it was to restrain between all of us, and that was with it outside of its element.”  
　　Jadzia stood on her toes and planted a kiss on Worf’s nose. She chuckled quietly. “You’re just bent out of shape because you almost got out-wrestled by a fish. Now, show me where it hurts, you big baby.”  
　　Worf’s dark cheeks blushed and he reluctantly let his shoulders fall, grunting an audible, “Hmph.”  
　　As Jadzia tended to her fiance, Julian collected the materials to begin suturing the large gashes on the fish-man.  
　　 _The mermaid_ , he thought to himself.  
　　

* * *

  
　　“Alright, alright! Quiet, please!” Sisko slapped at the table.  
　　The room rumbled with staff members chattering over the table.  
　　“Please!” he shouted, and the rumble died down. “Now, I know that this has been a large morning for some of us, and that the rest of us have likely heard some confusing things floating around in the last couple hours. But, let’s sit down and start with the facts.  
　　“This morning, around six, Officer Rozhenko came across what appeared to be an injured porpoise washed up near the facility. He called down Doctor Dax and me to file a report. However, upon closer inspection, we realized that this was not a porpoise. Nor was it something that any of us had ever seen before. Once we got it to the medical bay, we paged for the doctor. Unfortunately, the creature awoke before Doctor Bashir made it, and it caused quite a mess of the infirmary.”  
　　Miles raised his hand and spoke up. “Uh, sir, I’m sorry, what exactly IS it, though?”  
　　Sisko exhaled noisily and closed his eyes. “I assume you are all familiar with the term ‘mermaid.’”  
　　A slight woman with short, red hair snorted and smiled. “A mermaid, Captain?”  
　　Sisko touched his forehead with two fingers. “I know how it sounds, Nerys.” He spoke slowly, tiredly. “I know exactly how it sounds. If you don’t believe me, you can see for yourself in a few days. For now, it will be in quarantine with the exception to Doctor Dax and Doctor Bashir for record keeping and investigation.”  
　　The room grew noisy again with protest and confusion.  
　　“Excuse me!” Sisko slapped the table. “Hold your horses! We are not done here!” He coughed. “Doctor Bashir, when we were in the infirmary, you implied that this is not the first time you have seen this particular creature.”  
　　The room collectively turned their heads to look toward Julian.  
　　Sisko spoke softly in the silence. “What happened that day on the jetty, Doctor?”  
　　Miles piped up. “Yeah, Julian.” His eyes sliced into the doctor. “What did happen out on the jetty?”  
　　Julian flushed. “I...” He cleared his throat. “I suppose the details have been a little sketchy.”  
　　Miles snorted in response.  
　　“Earlier in that week, Molly got out of my sight for a few minutes. When I called for her, she reappeared from the direction of the jetty with a necklace that she claimed to have received from a mermaid. I didn’t think much of it because, you know, kids are very imaginative.  
　　“She obsessed about the mermaid and insisted that she go visit her again on the day of the incident.” He looked at Miles. “I wasn’t going to let her go alone. I promise.” Miles glared.  
　　Julian looked back at Sisko. “We sat there for a good while and watched the water near the jetty. It took ages, but finally something poked its head out of the water. It was, uh, grey and lumpy. I thought it was a manatee. Molly got excited and took off running across the rocks. When I tried to catch her, I tripped a bit so she got a head start. I yelled at her to stop, but she slipped. And that’s when she fell.” Julian looked to Miles again.  
　　Miles sat braced with a clenched jaw and a furrowed brow.  
　　“But,” Julian continued, “she didn’t fall in. It caught her.”  
　　“The, um, mermaid?” affirmed Sisko.  
　　Julian nodded and turned his eyes away in discomfort. “The mermaid.” He swallowed. “It caught her before she fell in, and held her until I took her into my arms. And then it disappeared into the water.” He looked again at Miles.  
　　Miles stared down at the table, brow and jaw still tensed.  
　　Julian tried to swallow, but his mouth ran dry. “And. And you all know the rest.”  
　　The room remained deathly silent.  
　　“I see,” Sisko muttered. He spoke gently. “Thank you for your honesty, Doctor. And everybody, for your cooperation. I know that this is a lot to digest for all of us. But, after all, we are a science team, and science is, first and foremost, a field of discovery and open-mindedness. I do ask that, for now, everybody respect the quarantine for the safety of our crew and for our, er, guest. Again, access to Tank Two will be restricted to the bare minimum, which would be Doctor Dax and Doctor Bashir.”  
　　He stood up. “With that, I believe it would be a good time to wrap this up and continue with our day as normally as possible.” As the occupants of the room began to stand and murmur, he added, “And, team! I trust that we can keep this under wraps until we have a better grasp of the situation.”  
　

* * *

  
　　On the first day, it took two hours after the meeting for the mermaid to come out of the tranquilizer.  
　　The team had taken the mermaid to the pool immediately after finishing the stitches, concerned about it being away from the water for so long. By the time it awoke, Julian had finished its vitals while Jadzia recorded the results. He took its pulse and oxygen levels, and applied a coat of liquid stitching to ensure that the wounds were less likely to rip back open from the water.  
　　Jadzia had measured it. In total, it was a little over seven feet long from the top of its head to the tip of its tail.  
　　For the rest of the time, the two of them had sat and observed the mermaid from the glass panels along the short walls of the cement pool. The pool itself was wide and deep, but primarily below the ground level.  
　　When it awoke, it gently thrashed, exhausted and groggy. It oriented itself, slowly drifting along the bottom of the pool. As it came to, it began to frantically dart around in the water. After a few moments of panicked swimming, it slowed down, seeming to be winded from its wounds. It didn’t appear to notice the glass panels.  
　　Julian and Jadzia left it alone.  
　　On the second day, Julian and Jadzia came in for the daily vital check. They crouched down and peered through the panels to see if they could catch it swimming along the wall, just outside of their vision.  
　　“How exactly are we planning to get its vitals with it awake this time? Should we get another tranquilizer?” asked Jadzia.  
　　A hand slapped the glass form the inside of the tank, startling them both. The mermaid, who had noticed the panels by now, swam up to meet their faces, scowled deeply, then swam away.  
　　“I’ll assume it’s fine, then,” muttered Julian.  
　　 On the fourth day, Julian stood scribbling down some notes on the mermaid from a distance, which was the best that he and Jadzia decided that they could do without shooting it full of tranquilizer again. He began to come after his shifts, while Jadzia did her visits during her rounds to the other observation tanks.  
　　A small splash caused Julian to look up from his clipboard. A bumpy, grey head peeked up about halfway out of the water, staring down Julian with its slit pupils.  
　　“Oh! Uh, hel-” Julian took a step toward the pool. The head popped back below the surface. “-O.” Julian huffed. He finished scribbling his note then turned to leave. “Silly to expect manners from a fish.”  
　　“Ass,” piped a voice from behind him.  
　　Julian stopped and quickly turned around. Nothing was out of place in the room, save for a circle of suspiciously fresh ripples from the surface of the pool. He quickly tucked the clipboard against himself and hurried out of the room.  
　　On the seventh evening, Julian lingered at the lip of one of the other observation tanks, watching a harbor porpoise make rounds in its tank, occasionally popping its head to the surface to peep at Julian and beg him with its eyes to allow it an extra kipper treat.  
　　“You’re a strange thing,” Julian said with a chuckle. “But no more treats for you. Jadzia would have my skin.”  
　　The porpoise snorted at him and papped the water with its snout, probably not understanding what he said, but still having a good time in general with being a porpoise.  
　　Julian laughed. “At least its almost like a conversation with you.” He sighed. “I’m beginning to wonder if your roommate over there is as sentient as mermaids get credit for.” He nodded his head behind him toward Tank Two.  
　　“Well, now, that’s hardly a fair assessment to make after such a short time, my dear doctor,” mused an unfamiliar voice.  
　　Julian slowly turned around.  
　　The mermaid had pulled its upper body up to the lip of the concrete wall of its tank. One arm lay along the side while the other propped the side of its large head on its fist.  
　　“Don’t you think?” he asked, flashing an alarming number of shark-like teeth in a wide grin.  
　　Julian dropped his clipboard. He tried to speak, but only managed to choke out a number of odd sounds.  
　　The merman chuckled. “I’m very sorry to have surprised you, doctor. I do understand your concern. After all, we didn’t get off on a very good start, did we? But, I imagine that you would feel very similarly if you had been caught in a similar situation, no?”  
　　Julian took a breath. “You, you talk? English?” He straightened up and cleared his throat into his hand. “You speak English?”  
　　The merman took his hand from his head and shrugged. “Well, of course! Our species evolved together. We aren’t so different, you know.”  
　　Julian was silent.  
　　The merman sighed. “I really am sorry for startling you. Let’s try this over.” He extended a webbed hand out to Julian. “Please, I prefer Garak. ‘Mermaid’ just feels so, hmm, so impersonal, you know?”  
　　Julian hesitated.  
　　Garak raised one brow ridge. “I’m not going to drown you, dear.”  
　　Julian smiled nervously. “Sounds suspiciously like something that somebody who was planning to drown me would say.”  
　　Garak smiled slyly. “I think we are going to get along quite well, Doctor, er, Doctor...?”  
　　Julian hesitantly placed his hand in Garak’s wet one. “Bashir. Julian Bashir.” He looked between Garak’s face and his hand. A sharp fin ran down the length of the back of each of Garak’s arms, ending right before his wrists began.  
　　“Marvelous,” said Garak. His hand lingered in Julian’s as he not-so-subtly observed the human hand. “Just Garak for me for now, if you will. Perhaps eventually we will make it to a first-name basis.”  
　　Julian quietly watched Garak studying the dark hairs scattered along the back of his hand. He took in the strange texture of Garak’s skin - slick, but not necessarily slippery; it was somewhat rough, more like a nurse shark than he expected. He hadn’t had much of an opportunity to really take in the texture when he had sedated and treated him back in the infirmary. The two were transfixed by the foreign details of each other’s hands, marveling over each hair follicle and scale.  
　　A door in the hallway clacked as it was pushed open. Officer Odo was beginning his evening rounds through the building.  
　　Garak quickly snapped from his observation. He yanked his hand away and gripped the side of the wall with both hands.  
　　“Well, Doctor Bashir, it has been wonderful meeting you officially this evening, and I hope that we can perhaps get off on a better foot. However, I think it is time that I made my disappearance.” He gestured toward the pool. “As much of a disappearance as I can make in this space, at least.”  
　　Julian nodded. “Oh, er...”  
　　Garak offered a gentle smile. “Tomorrow, then. Good night, my dear.” Before Julian could respond, he slunk back below the surface and made his way to his favorite place up against the least visible wall.  
　　Julian stood at the wall for a couple minutes, trying to register exactly what had just taken place. He slowly went to collect his clipboard, which had been generously splashed by his porpoise pal, and walked to the exit. He glanced back at the pool, but the water remained unbroken and calm.  
　　Julian exited the observation room and locked the door for the evening.


	4. A Cross Examination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doctor Bashir preforms a rather intimate examination. For science, of course. Why else?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! I'm so sorry for abandoning this for the last year. A lot of factors went into my absence, but the point is that I'm here and should be writing more frequently now that I'm properly medicated! I promise I'll make up for the pause by offering some fine fish dick in this trying time. 
> 
> Also, The Shape of Water? Hot damn.

“If I may ask,” Garak inquired, “what exactly have you all been doing out here for so long?”

“Research, to put it simply,” said Julian, not looking up from his writing. He sat on the concrete wall of the tank, Garak leaning on the wall a couple feet away. “We’re tracking the migration patterns and breeding habits of a certain species of harbor porpoise, though we have a few side projects such as recording biometrics, or whatever exactly it is Ezri and the other ecologists do.”

“And you are a doctor to the people, not to the porpoises?”

Julian chuckled lightly, still writing. “Correct.” A moment more of writing, and his pen suddenly stopped. He looked up, his brows furrowed. “Although, I suppose I’m a doctor to you as well, now. So, maybe it’s not so different.”

Garak exhaled noisily and slapped his tail out of the water and then forcefully down. “Doctor, I resent the implication that I am even remotely close to being a porpoise.”

“Sorry, sorry!” Julian quickly looked back down at his notes in embarrassment.

Garak laughed deep in his throat. “I suppose it is fine this time. Although one more insult may just land you in trouble.”

Julian cocked an eyebrow at the gray face looking up at him, smiling down boyishly at Garak. “Oh, really now?”

Garak, who seemed to have somehow inched his way to the doctor’s side without notice, slid himself upward to nearly meet Julian’s face with his own. He smiled, exposing his doubled rows of sharp teeth. “Do not forget,” he nearly whispered in a throaty growl. He snaked his webbed fingers around Julian’s wrist and slid his hand nearly to his elbow, clamping his grip. “I could eat you alive if I so chose, my dear doctor.”

Julian’s face grew hot as his own wrist was enveloped in the cold hand. Unlike the tops of Garak’s hands, his pale palms were smooth by comparison, the same odd, clammy slickness of silk. In a peculiar way, they were beautiful. All of Garak was peculiarly beautiful. His breath hitched as the hand slid upward, and as it clamped down, his heart skipped a beat.

As Garak relaxed his hand and slunk back down in the water, Julian released a long breath that he hadn’t realized he was holding.

He flipped open his calendar book, looking for a quick distraction to settle his nerves. “Oh dear,” he whispered, eliciting an inquiring noise from the man next to him, who was now trying not-so-subtly to peek at the book.

“I have to confess that I’ve been putting something off since the beginning, and then forgot about it, but now it has crept up into next week.”

“Well, spill it, then.”

Julian sharply inhaled. “Mister Garak, may I have your permission to do a proper full physical exam?”

Garak raised an eyebrow ridge. “How is this any different from what you have already been doing? I’d say you’ve been quite full in your exams these last few weeks.”

“No,” sighed Julian, “it’s much more thorough. This is less of a medical exam and more of a, er, documentation of your physical qualities.”

“Yes, yes. I get this. Quit speaking in circles, Doctor, and get to the point.”

 Julian was flustered. “Well, uh, you see. Well. Understand that, to us, you are something completely new and we don’t fully understand, well, how you work exactly.”

Garak was silent a moment. “I see,” he said softly.

“It’s on orders. As chief medical officer, I would be the one to perform the examination, although some of our biologists may be present to take notes. It may be a bit, well, invasive at times, but as we lucked out and you speak English, most of the invasive parts can be answered in question form.”

Garak sighed through his nose. “I suppose it’s only natural to be curious about a new body.”

“Right.” Julian clicked his pen back open. “One more thing. How long can you breathe outside of the water, Mister Garak?”

* * *

 

Julian spoke into a small, hand-held recording device. “The epidermis appears to have two distinct textures.” He gently ran a hand along the top of Garak’s arm, and down the smooth underside to his palm.

“While the ventral side is rather smooth, if not a bit rough, the dorsal side appears to be covered in a much rougher, um…”

Jadzia spoke up from where she stood with Ezri and another biologist a few feet away. “Dermal denticles. Like a shark.”

“Right,” said Julian, “dermal denticles.”

Garak lightly slapped his tail on the table impatiently. “All this talk of dorsal this and denticles that. I thought we had established that I am not an animal.”

Julian ignored the complaint. “X-rays of the patient show an internal set of lungs, implying the capacity to process oxygen in a non-marine environment as well as through gills in water.” Julian gingerly ran two fingertips along the frilly gills on Garak’s neck.

Garak visibly shuddered. “Please, Doctor,” he growled through his teeth, “refrain from touching my gills if you do not mind. They’re rather sensitive.”

Julian’s face flushed. He licked his lips with a dry tongue. “Right. Yes. I apologize,” he said. For whatever reason, his heartbeat had increased. He continued his analysis, occasionally pausing to take verbal notes into his recorder.

He came to a long scar down Garak’s belly. “It seems, at least, the wounds healed nicely. I’d say that, within a few months, it will be hardly noticeable at all.” He followed the scar downward with his fingers, eliciting a small squirm from the merman. Close to the end of the scar, he found a rather large slit running horizontally near where the base of the tail begin.

“Is this another injury?” Julian asked.

Jadzia, who had been nosing over Julian’s shoulder for several minutes, laughed softly. “I think that may be where he keeps his reproductive organs, Julian.”

Julian glared back at her, heat rising to his face. “Very funny.”

Garak spoke, his words a bit pained. “No, no. She’s very much correct. That’s where they are.”

Julian swallowed. “Uh, they?”

“He seems to follow a similar anatomy to a shark,” said Jadzia. “Although, not exactly entirely. While a little different, sharks have, well, two dicks.”

Garak shut his eyes, mortified. “Correct again, Doctor Dax, crude as it may have been. I do have, as you put it, two dicks.”

Julian’s chest tightened. He was silent. Finally, he spoke up, his words choked and quiet. “May I, um, may I see them?” He swallowed again, his mouth dry. “For science, I mean?”

“Absolutely not,” snapped Garak. “I may be splayed on a table like a science project, but I refuse to lose any further dignity.”

“I apologize,” stammered Julian, Jadzia snickering over his shoulder. He concluded the rest of the examination with no eye contact.

As Julian and Jadzia prepared to wheel the frustrated merman back out of the medical bay, his eye caught that of Ezri’s. He frowned at her, scrunching his eyebrow ridges. “You look… familiar.”

 Ezri looked back and forth from Garak to Julian. She laughed nervously. “Maybe you’ve seen me pass by the door?”

Garak cut his eyes at her. “Yes. Perhaps I have.”

* * *

 

“I truly am sorry for embarrassing you so much during the examination,” Julian said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head and avoiding eye contact.

“I suppose it’s alright, Doctor.” He sighed dramatically. “Only my pride was wounded.”

Julian rolled his eyes. “I’m sure you will make a speedy recovery.” He stood up from the side of tank. “I’m going to bed. It’s been a long afternoon.” To this, Garak made a non-committal noise.

As Julian nearly reached the door, Garak spoke up. “Doctor Bashir!” To this, Julian turned around. “Come here. I want you to answer me truthfully.” Julian obliged.

Garak spoke in a hushed tone. “Do you truly want to see them? For science?”

Julian hesitated, his face suddenly very warm again. “I-I. What I. I don’t. I mean.” He sighed. “For science.”

“Sit down,” commanded Garak lightly. He lay back in the water, exposing his light gray belly. “This remains between the two of us. You may put me in your personal records, but personal only.”

Julian swallowed. “Understood.”

Garak slowly began to run his fingers along the slit at the far end of his belly. He stroked along the line slowly, occasionally dipping a finger between the skin. As he stroked, two dark gray, nearly purple heads began to emerge.

“W-wait,” stammered Julian suddenly. His face was burning. “May I, uh, give it a go?”

Garak stopped stroking his slit and opened an eye at Julian. His pupil was wider than it had been before the conversation began. “I suppose so,” her murmured.

Julian inhaled and exhaled sharply and replaced Garak’s fingers with his own, easing his way around the slit. He found a comfortable rhythm and began to touch with more confidence. Garak squirmed ever so lightly under the touch. The two cocks slid out with ease, slick and vaguely pointed. They were ridged, not unlike the ridges on Garak’s flushed face and shoulders. At the base of each, they came to a larger knot.

Julian brushed his fingers along the length of one, eliciting a soft gasp from Garak. “Beautiful,” he murmured, speaking without thinking.

Garak chuckled softly. “You really think so?”

Julian snapped to reality. “Er, from a purely scientific standpoint, of course.” He rinsed his hand in the water and quickly stood. “Thank you very much for your willful participation. I think it’s time both of us got some rest, though.” He hurried to the door, attempting to hide the obvious erection in his scrub bottoms. “Good night!”

Julian headed straight for his shower. He attempted to distract himself with a washing ritual, but he couldn’t shake the image of Garak lying on his back in the water, completely exposed.

“Disgusting,” he muttered at himself, turning the water a bit colder. “Are you truly so desperate for company that you’re getting hard for a fish?”

Try as he may to sort himself out, in the end, he found himself chilly in bed, but ultimately still bothered. With a resigned sigh, he pulled off his boxers, bunching them up into a catch rag, and took his own cock in his hand.


End file.
